Nevada panel hears clashing testimony on death penalty

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Death penalty proponents and foes clashed Thursday during a daylong meeting of a study panel created by the 2001 Legislature.

At one point, Ben Graham, chief deputy district attorney in Clark County, said he was appalled that "we have people testifying here about the motives and the illegal or ill-conceived things we do to convict people."

"We don't go after innocent people," said Graham, also representing the Nevada District Attorneys Association. "We go after guilty people."

Death penalty opponents included Michael Pescetta, a deputy federal defender who has handled many Nevada capital cases over the years. He said the best move would be to ban executions by injection in Nevada.

If the death penalty remains, Pescetta suggested major reforms, including laws to ensure racial, economic or gender bias aren't factors in death penalty cases. He noted nearly half of the inmates on Nevada's death row are blacks -- and that's out of line with the state's general population.

Pescetta also said defendants charged with capital crimes need better legal assistance, and Nevada should revamp its standards for jury instructions.

He added that Nevada has the highest per-capita number of death row inmates in the nation -- and the lowest number of attorneys who are qualified to handle capital cases.

The committee also heard emotional testimony from several people who had family members that were murdered -- and who were backed by Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, who said there's no basis for abolition of the death penalty in Nevada.

Nancy Hart, representing Amnesty International and Nevadans Against the Death Penalty, said it's vitally important to hear from the victims in such cases. But Hart added that the legal system can't be based on "what makes the victims feel better."

Hart said she recognized that Nevada probably isn't ready to do away with the death penalty, but that shouldn't prevent major reforms and a close analysis of capital cases to pinpoint problems.

Joan Howarth, a UNLV law professor, said bias can develop no matter how well-intentioned people are in capital cases -- and they might not even be aware of it.

Bryan Stevenson, director of the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama, suggested a moratorium while lawmakers try to unravel racial bias questions involving capital punishment in Nevada. He said such an effort would have major significance, going beyond the state's death row inmates.

The panel, chaired by Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, was created after the 2001 Legislature shelved proposals to ban the death penalty and to prevent executions of mentally ill people or children.

The study committee's findings will go to the 2003 Legislature. Leslie said the panel's next meeting will be held Feb. 21.